Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Drybrook. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Drybrook.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Drybrook. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Drybrook are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Drybrook so you should seriously consider looking for a Drybrook conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Drybrook where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Drybrook conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Drybrook with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Drybrook can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Drybrook leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• A minority of Drybrook leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Drybrook conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 350000 maisonette in Drybrook in six days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Drybrook?

Drybrook conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Drybrook, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Drybrook with over 90 years remaining are worth £226,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2087

With only 61 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.